I only noticed them because they were still in the process of building the nest so there was a lot of flying and fetching of materials.

I kept going back, hoping that I would see babies.  Unfortunately I missed the baby window, but I got some great shots of the parents.

By the next visit on June 18, 2011, I suspect that the female was sitting on eggs.  I never got more than a glimpse of a tail, though.

The last time I went back was the next week on June 25, 2011.  This time the female was definitely sitting on eggs.

Now based on the timing, I know that I’ll have to visit starting in July if I want to see babies fledge.  I really wanted to go back this year, but there are many spots in Utah to visit and I can’t keep going to the same one every week.  So, check in next year for babies!

If you ever go to St. George you should stay at the Inn at Entrada.  The picture above is from right outside our casita.  In one direction there is red rock; in the other direction there are mountains.

The Inn is on a golf course and behind the golf course is a grassy little area where I went birding before we left for Las Vegas.  This place is going to be our new vacation spot.  I found bunnies the size of your hand.  Here is a regular bunny (they were very skittish):

There were lizards everywhere doing more pushups.  This one has blue spots and blends amazingly into the rock.

And I saw two new birds, possibly three if I can confirm that the hummingbird picture is not an Anna’s Hummingbird.  One spectacular new bird is called a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.

I wasn’t 100% sure about the identification because he looks a bit bluer than the Internet images I found.  But then I came across a description of the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher having “an angry black unibrow.”  Then I knew I had the correct ID.  See!

According to Bird Girl, they only have the eyebrow during mating season.  He has quite the beak for gnatcatching.

They’re supposed to have very distinctive songs, but there was so much activity in this little area that the only birds I could properly make out were the chickadees.  I’ve been listening to the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs, so hopefully I’ll get better at audio identifications.